Cold Email Software: The Challenger List [2024]

Whether you are an SDR, growth marketer, recruiter, or founder - having an efficient cold email outrech software is crucial to growing your business.
But how do you find the best cold email software for your needs? And which tool will give you the best value for money?
Our guide will help you find the right cold email tool for your business, without breaking your budget.

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The Ultimate List of Cold Email Outreach Software

1. Salesloft

Rating ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

G2 - 4.5/5 (3,745 reviews) │ Capterra - 4.3/5 (206 reviews)

Overview

Salesloft is an AI-powered revenue workflow platform that guides go-to-market teams in finding new customers, maximizing revenue, and increasing lifetime value. Its purpose is to centralize communication, manage leads, and improve sales processes.

Pricing & Functionalities

→ Free trial: No

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✅ Pros

• The AI-powered platform ensures data-driven decisions and automation.
• Comprehensive sales engagement tools to manage your entire sales cycle.
• Seamless integrations with other tools and platforms, such as Salesforce.
• Robust analytics and reporting for sales performance insights.
• Account-based view.

❌ Cons

• No free trial.
• Poor LinkedIn automation and reporting capabilities.
• Pricing might be on the higher side for smaller businesses.

2. Reply.io

Rating ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

G2 - 4.6/5 (1,146 reviews) │ Product Hunt - 4.3/5 (162 votes)

Overview

Reply.io is a sales engagement platform designed to automate personalized cold email campaigns and follow-ups. With advancements in AI technologies, it helps you automate the communication process as much as possible while maintaining a personal touch.

Pricing & Functionalities

→ Free plan: Yes

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✅ Pros

• Multichannel Outreach: Reply.io supports not just email, but also LinkedIn, WhatsApp, SMS, and more, allowing for diversified outreach strategies.
• Advanced Automation: The platform offers robust automation features, including triggers and sequences, to streamline the outreach process.
• Multi-inbox feature
• CRM Integration: Reply.io integrates seamlessly with popular CRM systems, ensuring smooth data transfer and workflow continuity.
• User-Friendly Interface: The platform is designed with usability in mind, making it easy for users to set up and manage campaigns.

❌ Cons

• Pricing: Some users find the pricing tiers to be on the higher side, especially for smaller businesses or startups.
• Occasional Delays: There have been reports of occasional delays in sending out emails or sequences, which can affect time-sensitive campaigns.
• Additional paid add-ons: Their advanced features (LinkedIn automation, additional email accounts, etc.) require paid add-ons.

3. Smartlead

Rating ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

G2 - 4.8/5 (67 reviews)

Overview

SmartLead is a sales engagement platform that focuses on providing pre-qualified sales opportunities. The tool aims to streamline the lead generation process, ensuring that sales teams have quality leads ready for conversion.

It offers various features such as lead pre-qualification, prospect nurturing, sales follow-up assurance, and integration capabilities.

Pricing & Functionalities

→ Free trial: Yes

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✅ Pros

• Provides unlimited mailboxes and warmups, allowing for scalable outreach.
• Features like Spintax, Rotating Inboxes, and AI Email Categorization enhance email deliverability and targeting.
• Multi-channel outreach capabilities, including Email, SMS, Twitter, and WhatsApp.
• AI-driven email warmups with natural conversations to improve sender reputation.
• Seamless integration with popular apps and tools.

❌ Cons

• Might have a learning curve for beginners.
• Some features might be available only in higher-tier plans.
• Limited AI capabilities compared to other platforms.

4. QuickMail

Rating ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

G2- 4.6/5 (79 reviews) │ Capterra- 4.8/5 (25 reviews)

Overview

QuickMail is a cold outreach solution designed for teams and marketers. It aims to provide advanced metrics and superior email deliverability, ensuring that users get replies instead of spam complaints.

Pricing & Functionalities

→ Free trial: Yes

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✅ Pros

• Advanced features: The tool includes email account rotation and detailed reporting.
• Integration with Other Tools: QuickMail offers native integrations with HubSpot and Pipedrive.
• Safety Features: The software has built-in features to prevent users from getting blacklisted, such as sending limits and domain throttling.

❌ Cons

• User Interface: Some users find the interface a bit outdated and not as intuitive as some other modern platforms.
• Template Limitations: Some users have mentioned that the template editor could be more flexible and user-friendly.
• Limited warm-up feature: The warmup feature depends on a third-party partner.

5. SmartReach

Rating ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

G2- 4.8/5 (31 reviews) │ Capterra- 4.7/5 (25 reviews)

Overview

Smartreach is an AI-powered sales engagement platform designed for sales teams to consistently achieve their targets. It offers features to automate and optimize key touchpoints throughout the sales cycle, such as multichannel outreach, shared inbox, AI content, cold emailing, and email deliverability.

Pricing & Functionalities

→ Free trial: Yes

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✅ Pros

• Omnichannel Sequences: Automate sequences using multiple channels like Email, LinkedIn, WhatsApp, Calling, and Text.
• End-to-End LinkedIn Automation: Complete automation of LinkedIn outreach sequence, including viewing profiles, sending connection requests, messages, and Inmails.
• Shared Inbox: Allows specified team members to read and reply to emails, promoting collaboration.
• AI Content: Provides tools to create engaging content.

❌ Cons

• User Interface: Some users have mentioned that the interface can be a bit clunky and not as intuitive as they'd like.
• Pricing: For small businesses or individual users, SmartReach might be considered a bit pricey compared to some other tools in the market.
• Initial Setup: The initial setup and onboarding process can be a bit complex, especially for those new to cold email software.
• Customer Support: While many find their support helpful, a few users have mentioned delays in response times or not getting adequate solutions to their issues.
• Limited Templates: The platform could benefit from a wider variety of pre-designed email templates for different industries and use cases.

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6. SalesBlink

Rating ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

G2- 4.5/5 (121 reviews) │ Capterra- 4.7/5 (115 reviews)

Overview

SalesBlink is a multichannel sales automation platform that aims to help users get booked with meetings. It offers tools for automating email outreach, improving email deliverability, and scheduling meetings.

The platform is designed to enhance outreach efforts, allowing users to connect with leads through various channels and automate their prospecting routine.

Pricing & Functionalities

→ Free trial: Yes

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✅ Pros

• Omnichannel Outreach: Engage leads on multiple platforms.
• BlinkGPT: AI-powered tool for generating email content and sequences.
• Email WarmUp: Ensures emails land in the primary inbox.
• Meeting Scheduler: Simplifies the process of booking meetings with prospects.
• Lead Enrichment: Find email & phone numbers of potential customers.

❌ Cons

• User Interface: Some users have mentioned that the interface can be a bit clunky or not as intuitive as they would like.
• Integration Limitations: While SalesBlink offers integrations, it might not seamlessly integrate with all CRMs or tools that some businesses use.
• Pricing: For small businesses or startups, the pricing might be a bit on the higher side when compared to other tools offering similar features.

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7. Breakcold

Rating ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

G2- 4.7/5 (105 reviews) │ Product Hunt - 4.3/5 (58 votes)

Overview

Breakcold is a Social Selling Software and Sales CRM combined into one platform.

It's designed to help businesses interact with their B2B contacts across multiple channels, including Email, LinkedIn, and Twitter, with the aim of increasing revenues and building stronger B2B relationships.

Pricing & Functionalities

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✅ Pros

• Multi-Channel Engagement: Engage with B2B contacts via Email, LinkedIn, and Twitter from a single platform.
• Prospecting Feed: Consolidates LinkedIn and Twitter posts of prospects, allowing users to engage without switching between multiple tabs.
• Sales Pipeline Management: Offers an easy-to-use sales pipeline tool that adapts based on where prospects are in the sales journey.
• CRM Integration with LinkedIn: Manage CRM directly from LinkedIn using their Google Chrome extension.

❌ Cons

• Learning curve: Transitioning from traditional CRMs might pose a slight learning curve due to Breakcold's modern approach, necessitating additional onboarding resources.
• Takes time: The app slows down when dealing with a lot of data.
• Integration issues: Breakcold's integration with LinkedIn needs the use of an extension to sync connections which sometimes leads to glitches.

8. Outplay

Rating ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

G2- 4.5/5 (246 reviews) │ Capterra- 4.7/5 (70 reviews)

Overview

Outplay is a multi-channel sales engagement platform designed to help sales teams engage with their B2B contacts across various channels, including Email, LinkedIn, and Twitter. Its primary purpose is to increase revenue and strengthen B2B relationships.‍

Pricing & Functionalities

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✅ Pros

• Multi-Channel Engagement: Allows sales teams to engage with B2B contacts across Email, LinkedIn, and Twitter.
• Seamless CRM Integration: Offers bi-directional integrations with a wide range of CRMs.
• Automated Outreach: Provides tools for automating outreach and follow-ups across multiple channels.
• Conversation Intelligence: AI-powered tools to make every sales interaction count.
• User-Friendly: Designed for fast-scaling SMBs, making it easy for salespeople to adapt and use.

❌ Cons

• Initial Setup: While the platform is user-friendly, the initial setup and onboarding might require some time and effort.
• Support Issues: While many find their support helpful, there have been occasional mentions of delayed responses or resolution times.

9. Crew

Rating ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

G2- 4.2/5 (52 reviews) │ Capterra- 4.7/5 (37 reviews)

Overview

Crew is an all-in-one recruiting CRM designed for modern teams. It aims to speed up hiring processes, from sourcing to interviewing to closing, ensuring that teams can hire the best talent efficiently.

Pricing & Functionalities

→ Free plan: No

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✅ Pros

• Integration with Job Boards: The software can integrate with popular job boards, streamlining the process of finding and reaching out to potential candidates.
• Analytics and Reporting: Crew offers detailed analytics on email campaigns, helping recruiters understand what's working and what's not.
• Automated Follow-ups: The platform can automate follow-up emails, ensuring that potential candidates are engaged at the right intervals.
• User-friendly Interface: Crew's interface is intuitive, making it easy for recruiters to set up and manage campaigns.

❌ Cons

• Limited Customization: The email templates and outreach sequences might have limited customization options, which could be a drawback for some users.
• Pricing: Depending on the size of the organization and the number of recruiters using the tool, Crew's pricing might be considered steep.
• Integration Limitations: While Crew integrates with some job boards, it might not cover all platforms, limiting its utility for some recruiters.

10. Buzz

Rating ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

G2- 4.7/5 (98 reviews) │ Capterra - 3.7/5 (7 reviews)

Overview

Buzz.ai is a sales engagement platform designed for revenue teams. It's described as the world's first all-in-one sales engagement platform that allows sales teams to engage more prospects and close more deals without software exhaustion.

The platform combines data sourcing, automation, and lead management to engage, manage, and close ideal clients.

Pricing & Functionalities

→ Free trial: No

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✅ Pros

• All-in-One Platform: Buzz.ai offers a comprehensive solution that combines various sales engagement tools into one platform.
• Data Enrichment: Provides real-time data enrichment to get accurate lead data.
• Multi-Channel Outreach: Supports both social and email outreach, allowing synchronized multi-channel campaigns.
• Pipeline Management: Offers an internal, fully customizable pipeline and also supports native CRM integration.
• Detailed Analytics: Provides insights on email opens, link clicks, and other metrics to help users make informed sales decisions.

❌ Cons

• Integration with LinkedIn and HubSpot isn't very seamless.
• The organizing of the campaigns and the resources can be better.
• Unclear statistics.

11. Uptics

Rating ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Capterra- 4.4/5 (59 reviews) │ G2 - 4.5/5 (45 reviews)

Overview

uptics is an all-in-one sales automation CRM designed to prospect, nurture leads, and engage customers 24/7.

It aims to boost productivity, save on subscriptions, and help businesses achieve their revenue goals.

Pricing & Functionalities

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✅ Pros

• Comprehensive All-In-One Solution: Uptics combines CRM, cold email, power dialer, lead list, email verification, learning management, email warming, team chat, AI, and automation into one platform.
• AI Sales Assistant: Provides AI-driven insights and assistance to enhance sales strategies.
• Email Warming Flamethrower: Ensures that your emails land in the recipient's inbox and not the spam folder.
• Course & Learning Epicenter: Offers courses to help sales teams improve their skills and strategies.
• Trusted by Many: The platform is trusted by over 3000+ businesses, indicating its reliability and effectiveness.

❌ Cons

• The UI could be better
• Lack of integrations
• Lack of multichannel capabilities
• The learning curve for new users

12. ClosersHQ

Rating ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

G2 - 4.9/5 (4 reviews)

Overview

ClosersHQ is a multi-channel sales engagement solution designed for sales teams sending high-volume emails. It provides tools and components to create and automate outbound sales and cold emailing campaigns.‍

Pricing & Functionalities

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✅ Pros

• Features like sender rotation allow campaigns to be launched with multiple sender email accounts.
• Offers hyper-personalization, allowing content personalization with customer data, sender variables, and spintax.
• Provides a complete campaign personalization kit, including prospect properties, sender variables, and spintax for unique email content.

❌ Cons

• Some of the users reported that the UX/UI could be smoother.

Need more cold email outreach tools alternatives?

Do you think one of these tools will not get the job done for you? 
We listed 13 of the best cold email outreach software. These will get your message into your prospects' inboxes through email warm-up, lead enrichment, or AI writing assistant.
If you're sending a smaller volume of cold emails and looking to stay budget-conscious, choosing a tool with basic outreach capabilities is better.

How to Choose Your Cold Email Outreac Software: 10-step Checklist

Before diving into the ultimate list of the best cold email software, it’s important to take a strategic approach, taking into account your specific needs, budget, and objectives.

Here's a checklist of things to do when choosing your best cold email software:

[ ]  Define your outreach goals

Clarify what you hope to achieve with your cold email campaigns. Whether it's lead generation, partnership establishment, or direct sales, your goals will influence which features are must-haves.

[ ]  Determine your cold email sending volumes

Consider how many emails you'll send monthly or weekly. Some software excels for high-volume campaigns, while others are more suited for smaller, more targeted outreach.

[ ]  List non-negotiable features & functionalities

Depending on your outreach goals, make a list of must-have features and functionalities. This can vary from anything that helps you achieve the benefits listed in the checklist above (e.g., AI-powered sequences, email warm-ups, specific integrations, etc.)

[ ]  Set your budget

While it's tempting to go for a premium tool, there are cost-effective options with robust features. Sometimes, a lower-cost tool combined with another supplementary tool might offer the best value.

[ ]  Define your skill level

Think about the people who are going to use this tool the most and their expertise levels. The software should have an intuitive interface, ensuring a minimal learning curve for your team or upcoming members.

[ ]  Think about your scalability

The chosen software should accommodate your growth, so you won't have to switch platforms as your company expands.

[ ]  List down important regulations

This will help you ensure your new software adheres to not only basic regulations such as the CAN-SPAM Act and GDPR but also regulations specific to your industry.

[ ]  Determine the needed level of customer support

We advise you to choose software with responsive customer support, ensuring quick resolutions to any potential issues.

[ ]  Define if you want a free trial or not

Most cold email software offers trial periods, but not all of them. We advise you to use free trials to test the platform, ensuring it aligns with your needs and expectations.

[ ]  Sync with the rest of your outreach team

Gather feedback about the highly requested features from your outreach team. Their hands-on experience can provide insights into any features and functionalities that might be necessary.